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Sprawling out into the empty pampa like a disjointed patchwork quilt BAHIA BLANCA is not the most immediately appealing of cities. Though it's the economic and industrial centre of the south of Buenos Aires Province, with nearly 300,000 inhabitants, it has a rather subdued feel and many Argentinians regard it as not only a bit dull but as synonymous with the military: the country's largest naval base, Puerto Belgrano, lies 20km southeast of town and, during the 1976-83 military dictatorship, the city was the site of one of Argentina's most notorious torture and detention centres, known as "La Escuelita" and chronicled by one of its ex-detainees, Alicia Partnoy, in her book The Little School: Tales of Disappearance and Survival in Argentina (1986). Despite this somewhat negative image, the city shouldn't be written off altogether: its transport links with Sierra de la Ventana , resorts of the pampa region and major Patagonian cities are a practical plus and, once you head into town, you'll find a spread of handsome - if fairly typical - early twentieth-century architecture and enough modest attractions amongst its parks, museums and galleries to fill a day or so. Five kilometres southwest of the centre lie the ramshackle but charming cobbled streets of Puerto Ingeniero White , a blend of hulking great industrial architecture and faded remnants of the days when its bars and cantinas were the raucous centre of social life for the then vibrant port area. At the heart of the area is the fabulous Museo del Puerto , an ingenious museum dedicated to recording the history, memories and even recipes of the port's largely immigrant population. From Bahia Blanca it's an easy journey to the region's main beach resort, Monte Hermoso or the nearby, much smaller, village of Pehuen-Co .
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